to miss the boat, to drop the ball
Dormiu no ponto e perdeu a vaga de emprego para outro candidato.
He missed the boat and lost the job position to another candidate.
The picture behind dormir no ponto is of someone who literally falls asleep at the very spot where they should be alert — like a passenger dozing at the bus stop (ponto) and letting the bus pull away without them. The decisive moment comes and goes while you are not paying attention.
Falando's Idiom Trainer teaches you to recognize idiom meanings and create sentences using them, so you can speak like a Brazilian.
